3GPP has introduced Policy and Charging Control (PCC) architecture. In the latest version of the 3GPP TS23.203v11.0.1 (January, 2011), there is added a new node—Application Detection and Control (ADC) in the PCC architecture, which includes a Traffic Detection Function (TDF). The ADC/TDF detects application traffic and reports it to a PCRF. The TDF may be an independent device or integrated with a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF). The PCC architecture including ADC/TDF addresses application-layer service policy issues based on a charging policy rule determined in PCRF. The PCC architecture introduces an Sd reference point residing between a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF) and an individual ADC/TDF. Based on a ADC rule regardless of whether it is preset in the TDF or dynamically provided by the PCRF via the Sd reference point, the TDF can dynamically control the application detection and the service data flow.
However, the PCC architecture in the TS23.203v11.0.1 can not perform charging control to the application-layer data based on account information from an Online Charging System (OCS). There is no direct interface between TDF and OCS to support a charging-related policy decision. However, in 3GPP, most operators have a demand to perform charging control to application-layer data based on the PCC architecture.
Therefore, it becomes an imminent problem to those skilled in the art to resolve how to performing charging control to application-layer data based on the PCC architecture.